The quasicrystals found in this study form the corners of 20-sided shape called an icosahedron ... The alloy formed under the extreme conditions of metal 3D printing, a new way to make metal parts.

3D printing creates shapes that would be impossible with any other method. For example, in 2015 GE designed fuel nozzles for airplane engines that could only be made with metal 3D printing.

One layer at a time, the laser melts the powder into a solid shape. This 3D printer builds objects by melting a fine metal powder with a laser. First, the surface is coated with metal powder. Then, a ...